Titan Bloodline! What the heck, you prodigal son want to acquire Nuoding Academy

After dinner.

The scent of braised spirit beast meat still lingered in the dining hall of the City Lord Mansion.

Liu Ruyan was busy tidying up the dishes with a maid, muttering, "Why did that child eat so fast today? Usually, I have to urge him three times."

Xiao Chengkun sat with his legs crossed, contentedly picking his teeth while holding a teacup, humming an unknown tune that was at least three notes off-key.

Xiao Chenyu set down his chopsticks, quietly leaned toward Xiao Chengkun's ear, and lowered his voice. "Father, come with me for a moment."

Xiao Chengkun's hand paused mid-pick. He was all too familiar with that look on his son's face.

The last time the boy had worn that expression, he was about to head out on a long journey.

What was it this time?

"What is it now?"

Xiao Chengkun set down his teacup and followed his son, winding through the corridors until they reached the study.

Xiao Chenyu walked ahead of him, his steps light but purposeful.

Once inside the study, he specifically glanced back at the door before closing it tightly.

"Yu'er, you're being so mysterious. What exactly are you up to?"

Xiao Chengkun was amused by his son's thief-like behavior and couldn't help but tease him.

"Don't tell me you've gone and hooked the soul of some young lady?"

"Actually, your mother is right; that girl from the Li Family is quite good—"

"Father, this is serious."

Xiao Chenyu interrupted him and pulled a small jade bottle from his robes.

The moment he pulled the stopper, a force of blood energy so potent it was suffocating surged through the study like a bursting dam.

Faint, golden patterns even began to manifest in the air.

It was the natural pressure radiating from the Titan God Blood Bead.

"!"

Xiao Chengkun's smile froze on his face.

He was a Spirit King, and in a remote town like Nuoding City, that level of cultivation made him a person of some standing.

Yet, at this moment, facing the aura emanating from the jade bottle, the spirit power within his own body began to tremble spontaneously.

A primal sense of awe rose from the depths of his martial soul.

It was like the instinctual urge to submit that was carved into the bones of low-level spirit beasts when facing those of a higher order.

"This is..."

Xiao Chengkun's voice cracked, and he nearly dropped his teacup.

"A Titan God Blood Bead, a treasure."

Xiao Chenyu's expression remained calm as he poured a bead from the bottle, held it in his palm, and offered it to his father.

The bead was as round as a pearl, its entire surface shimmering with a dark golden light.

Even just resting quietly in his palm, the blood energy it emitted caused the surrounding air to warp slightly.

Looking closely, one could see liquid flowing within the bead, as if it were a drop of solidified molten lava.

There were three Titan God Blood Beads in total; Xiao Chenyu had already consumed one.

The effect, unfortunately, hadn't triggered the Titan bloodline.

However, the boost to his physical constitution was far, far more intense than that of Ten Thousand Year Whale Glue.

His current physique might even rival that of a Beast Martial Soul Spirit Ancestor.

It was a pity that this item was like a limited-use prop; it only worked once per person, and eating more was a pure waste.

Of the remaining two, he had kept one for himself as a backup.

The other, naturally, was for his father.

"Father, eat it."

"Gulp."

Xiao Chengkun stared at the blood bead and swallowed hard.

He didn't know the origin of this item.

But he was a Spirit King, after all, and he possessed basic judgment.

Anything that could make his martial soul tremble just from its aura was absolutely extraordinary.

It was impossible to obtain something like this in a place like Nuoding City.

"Yu'er, where did you get this?"

"Don't ask. Heroes don't ask about origins, and treasures don't ask about their path. Understand?"

Xiao Chenyu shoved the blood bead directly into Xiao Chengkun's hand.

"Rest assured, it wasn't stolen or robbed; a friend gave it to me."

"Eat it first, and you'll know its effects once you're done."

"..."

Xiao Chengkun looked at the blood bead in his hand, then at his son's candid gaze.

After a moment of silence.

Xiao Chengkun chose to tilt his head back and swallow the blood bead.

The next second—

"Ugh—!"

Xiao Chengkun's eyes widened, and his muscles suddenly bulged.

Veins protruded beneath his skin as if something were churning violently inside his body.

He grabbed the corner of the desk for support, but the table couldn't withstand the force and shattered into two pieces with a "crack."

"Boom!"

A wave of black energy exploded from within him, overturning all the chairs and tables in the study.

"Clatter!"

A teacup fell to the floor and shattered into pieces, while the calligraphy and paintings on the walls rattled loudly in the wake of the energy surge.

Xiao Chenyu had been prepared and had stepped back three paces in advance, but he still had to squint his eyes against the blast of air.

Xiao Chengkun's soul power surged uncontrollably—level fifty-six, level fifty-seven, level fifty-eight, level fifty-nine!

He had jumped four levels in a row!

The fluctuations of soul power were like a wild horse off its leash, rampaging through the study and causing the windows to rattle incessantly.

But that wasn't the most shocking part.

Behind Xiao Chengkun, a phantom of his martial soul emerged automatically and uncontrollably.

It was a grey wolf.

Originally, it was just an ordinary wolf martial soul.

It was barely passable in a small place like Nuoding City.

Across the entire Douluo Continent, it was nothing more than a background character's martial soul.

But now, that grey wolf was mutating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its body expanded, ballooning from the size of a normal wolf to that of a small elephant.

Its fur shifted from greyish-white to dark gold, with every strand gleaming like metal.

Its fangs lengthened, its claws became hooked, and a dark golden light ignited within its wolf eyes.

Most importantly, a pressure stemming from the ancient Titan bloodline erupted from the wolf martial soul.

It was the unique bloodline pressure of the Titan race—heavy as a mountain, domineering as thunder.

The moment the mutation completed, the dark golden giant wolf threw its head back and howled.

"Awoooo!!!"

The howl was domineering and majestic.

This was no longer an ordinary wolf martial soul.

It was a brand-new mutated martial soul that had unlocked the Titan bloodline—the Titan Giant Wolf!

Xiao Chenyu's eyes widened.

He looked at the imposing dark golden giant wolf phantom, then at his father, his mouth twitching.

Holy crap! He activated the Titan bloodline?!

When he consumed the God Blood Bead himself, only his physical fitness had improved; his bloodline hadn't budged an inch.

Yet when his father ate it, his wolf martial soul mutated directly into a Titan Giant Wolf, and his soul power jumped four levels. What kind of luck was this?

Could it be that the Titan bloodline had a particularly high compatibility with middle-aged men?

Or was it that his father's martial soul was inherently more suited to fusing with the power of the Titan than his own?

A moment later.

The energy waves gradually subsided.

The study was in a state of total disarray, as if a real wolf had charged in and turned the place upside down.

But Xiao Chengkun couldn't care less about that.

He stood where he was, looking down at his own hands.

He felt the surging soul power within his body and his brand-new martial soul.

He stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, unable to move a muscle.

"This... I..."

His voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

"My martial soul... mutated? My soul power... is at level fifty-nine?"

He had jumped four levels, from fifty-five to fifty-nine.

If word of this speed got out, it would terrify every soul master in Nuoding City.

He turned around, his gaze fixed on Xiao Chenyu with shock.

His lips trembled several times before he managed to squeeze out a complete sentence: "Yu'er, what exactly did you give your father to eat?"

"Martial soul mutation, comprehensive strengthening of physical fitness, four levels of soul power in one go... This must be a divine medicine, right? Where did you get it? Who exactly is your friend?"

Xiao Chenyu smiled.

He pulled a jade bottle from his robes, shook it in front of his father, and tucked it away again.

"Father, please don't ask."

"Just consider it a filial offering from your son."

"Things given by a friend should be put to good use; they don't earn interest sitting in a bottle."

Xiao Chengkun looked at his son with a complex expression.

This kid was only ten, yet he spoke and acted more like an adult every day.

After being away for a few days, he had returned with so many secrets.

He had even produced a divine medicine capable of causing bloodline mutation.

But he was sensible enough not to press further.

If his son didn't want to say, he wouldn't ask.

"You brat, you're already keeping things from your old man."

Xiao Chengkun patted Xiao Chenyu's shoulder heavily, using much more force than usual.

Perhaps because he had just broken through and couldn't control his strength, the blow made Xiao Chenyu's shoulder sink.

But he didn't dodge, simply grinning in response.

His physical fitness was nothing to sneeze at these days, either.

"Fine, I won't ask."

"But if you ever need your father's help, just say the word."

Xiao Chengkun thumped his chest, his tone as bold as if he had downed two pounds of strong liquor.

"With the Titan Giant Wolf martial soul and level fifty-nine soul power, your father can walk sideways through Nuoding City without a care!"

Xiao Chenyu had been waiting for those exact words.

"Actually, I do have something."

He pulled a thin booklet from his robes and handed it over.

It was the Xuantian Skill he had personally transcribed from the Xuantian Record.

The internal cultivation method, the circulation paths, and the meridian diagrams were all copied down without a single error.

Of course, he hadn't copied the Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons or the poison techniques yet.

His father's personality was too straightforward; he wouldn't be able to handle those convoluted tricks.

"What is this?"

Xiao Chengkun took the booklet and flipped through it.

He discovered it was filled with dense circulation paths and meridian annotations.

"Father, this is even more precious than that blood bead from earlier."

Xiao Chenyu's tone turned solemn, shedding his previous playful demeanor.

"Once you have learned what is written here, burn it immediately. Do not leave a single word behind."

"Do not reveal it to anyone, including Mother."

"It's not that I don't trust her, but she is an ordinary person; the less she knows, the safer she is."

Xiao Chengkun's fingers tightened slightly, his rough fingertips stroking the cover of the booklet.

He looked up into his son's serious eyes, then slowly tucked the booklet close to his body, placing it even deeper than his coin purse.

"I understand."

He offered no unnecessary words, simply nodding once.

But Xiao Chenyu could feel the weight of that nod.

The atmosphere grew heavy for a moment.

Xiao Chenyu suddenly rubbed his hands together, a sheepish grin spreading across his face.

That smile felt remarkably like a child trying to wheedle pocket money out of a parent.

"Father, you said earlier that if I needed any help, I should just ask, right?"

"?"

Watching his son's expression, Xiao Chengkun suddenly had a bad premonition.

What was it this time?

Surely he wasn't planning on going to the Star Dou Great Forest again?

"You aren't thinking of going to some dangerous place again, are you?" Xiao Chengkun stared at his son warily.

"No, no, it's really not that this time."

Xiao Chenyu hurriedly waved his hands, then cleared his throat and spoke in the most casual tone he could muster.

"Father, let's buy out the Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy."

"..."

The study fell silent for a full three seconds.

Xiao Chengkun's mouth hung wide open.

"Huh?"